Iowa awards, Illinois narrative, and Kentucky program details
Rural Health Transformation Program Brief: February 14–21, 2026
Funding and Awards
Iowa
Posted a news item Healthy Hometowns RHT site stating it is “first in the nation to award Rural Health Transformation Program funding” and indicating it “awarded $209 million for first year of federal Rural Health Transformation Program.”
Also published a Notice of Intent to Award with dozens of hospital partners listed: https://hhs.iowa.gov/media/18093/
The site now includes a “Funding Opportunities” section and a “Notice of Intent to Award” section
The update also added detailed materials including the full project narrative, cover letter, project summary, and a PowerPoint presentation.
Iowa’s page previously showed multiple “Notice of Intent to Release” entries for various RFPs, which were removed during updates on February 17-19. These included RFPs for workforce recruitment, medical equipment procurement, cancer screening, EMS community care, centers of excellence, and technical assistance providers.
Application Materials
Illinois
Published its RHTP project narrative this week: https://hfs.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/hfs/info/fedresctr/rhtsprogramnarrative.pdf
the state’s Healthcare and Family Services RHTP page now includes a PDF of the project narrative submitted to CMS on November 5, 2025, in response to NOFO #CMS-RHT-26-001
The changes detected on February 19-20 also included updated formatting for existing documents on sample funding uses and strategic initiatives.
Kentucky
RHTP page added a “Get Involved” page: https://ruralhealthplan.ky.gov/Pages/GetInvolved.aspx
Interest form: https://redcap.chfs.ky.gov/surveys/?s=44L4RCAE8PWEEKH7
Expanded/ edited detail on their RHT plan:
Rural Community Hubs for Chronic Care Innovation: Establishes local “hub-and-spoke” collaboratives focused on obesity and diabetes prevention and management. These hubs will integrate nutrition, physical activity programs and digital self-management tools.
PoWERing Maternal and Infant Health: Expands timely prenatal and postpartum care by deploying telehealth-enabled maternal care teams who will serve maternity-care deserts and high-risk regions, to help mothers and infants receive seamless, high-quality support.
Rapid Response to Recovery (EmPATH Model): Deploys technology-enabled crisis stabilization and mobile behavioral health response teams to connect individuals with community-based treatment and recovery supports.
Rooted in Health: Rural Dental Access: Increases access to preventive oral health services through expanded dental hygiene training programs, externships and portable/tele-dental clinics.
Crisis to Care: Integrated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Response and Coordination: Enhances pre-hospital capacity and trauma coordination through treat-in-place protocols, improved data connectivity and workforce training for rural EMS providers.